Sunday, December 25, 2016

Merry Christmas from Hogwarts

This Christmas I am listening to this animated Hogwarts Great Hall Christmas ambience. It was made by Claire, one of the many ASMR artists creating videos in Youtube for relaxation.

If you've never heard of it, ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, a tingling sensation that typically starts on the scalp then moves down the back. Not all people experience this though, and in my family I'm the only one who does.

I've first watched videos like this around summer 2014, but the feeling described as ASMR I have been aware of since I was a child. I had this doctor toy set back then, but all I ever wanted to play was the patient. In high school, when we had our annual retreat, the teachers walked around to pray over the students one by one. It was very quiet and all I can hear were footsteps and whispers. When my adviser hovered her hands over my head and started whispering, it was like shivers down my spine.

A lot of people, however, think this is weird. But for the main purpose of relaxation and from what I have read in video comments (though still not scientifically proven), it helps people relax and sleep.

So, are you one of the weird bunch? If you want to try it, here are my absolute favorite channels: